A dispute over the sale of The Unfinished Memoirs, the autobiography of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led to the closure of a sales outlet operated by publishing house University Press Limited (UPL) in Banglabazar, Dhaka, on Monday.
The incident took place at around 5.30pm on 28 September. Two employees of the UPL outlet, identified as Aminul Islam and Humayun Kabir, were taken away and held temporarily. They were later released from a police outpost following mediation, on the condition that the book would no longer be sold from the outlet.
According to UPL, two young men arrived at its Banglabazar sales centre at around 5.30pm and asked to purchase The Unfinished Memoirs. After the staff brought out a copy of the book, the two men objected to its sale and claimed that the publication was prohibited.
The situation subsequently escalated, with several other people reportedly gathering around the outlet. The shop shutter was pulled down and locked, while the two employees were taken away.
Sub-Inspector-level police personnel were involved in handling the situation, according to the account provided by UPL. Matiur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sutrapur Police Station, told the media that the two employees were not taken to the police station. Instead, they were taken to the Faridabad Police Outpost, where they were later released.
The police officer also said that The Unfinished Memoirs had not been printed since 2024. The employees were released from the outpost after an understanding was reached that the book would no longer be sold. No formal complaint was filed at the police station in connection with the incident, he said.
The episode has also raised questions about the status of the book and the process through which a published work may be withdrawn from sale. UPL said it would comply if the government formally prohibited the book, but that the publisher would not independently remove publications from the market without such an official decision.
Firoz Ahmed, director of UPL’s board of directors, told the media that the company would be obliged to withdraw the book if the government formally prohibited it. Until such action is taken, however, the publisher does not intend to remove books from sale on its own.
He said UPL had previously faced pressure over other publications as well, but had not removed those books from the market. According to him, publishing a book involves considerable work and investment, and the company would follow the law if any publication were formally prohibited.
The Unfinished Memoirs is an autobiographical work by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman covering various periods of his life, including his childhood, family background, political activities and experiences in prison. The book was published posthumously and became a widely discussed work in Bangladesh because of its account of the country’s political history from his perspective.
The latest incident at the Banglabazar outlet has brought renewed attention to the question of how books are treated when objections are raised against their publication or sale, while UPL’s position is that any formal withdrawal should follow an official legal or governmental decision.
